Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

A strategy for reducing neonatal mortality at high altitude using oxygen conditioning

Journal of Perinatology volume 35, pages 900–902 (2015)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Neonatal mortality increases with altitude. For example, in Peru the incidence of neonatal mortality in the highlands has been shown to be about double that at lower altitudes. An important factor is the low inspired PO2 of newborn babies. Typically, expectant mothers at high altitude will travel to low altitude to have their babies if possible, but often this is not feasible because of economic factors. The procedure described here raises the oxygen concentration in the air of rooms where neonates are being housed and, in effect, this means that both the mother and baby are at a much lower altitude. Oxygen conditioning is similar to air conditioning except that the oxygen concentration of the air is increased rather than the temperature being reduced. The procedure is now used at high altitude in many hotels, dormitories and telescope facilities, and has been shown to be feasible and effective.

Your institute does not have access to this article

Access options

Buy article

Get time limited or full article access on ReadCube.

$32.00

Buy

All prices are NET prices.

Figure 1

References

  1. Beall CM . The effects of high altitude on growth, morbidity, and mortality of Peruvian infants. PhD dissertation. Pennsylvania State University,, 1976.

  2. Beall CM . Optimal birth weights in Peruvian populations at low and high altitudes. Am J Phys Anthropol 1981; 56: 209–216.

    CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Frisancho AR, Cossman J . Secular trend in neonatal mortality in the mountain states. Am J Phys Anthropol 1970; 33: 103–106.

    CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Grahn D, Kratchman J . Variation in neonatal death rate and birth weight in the United States and possible relations to environmental radiation, geology and altitude. Am J Hum Genet 1963; 15: 329–352.

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  5. Lichty JA . Neonatal mortality and prematurity in Colorado. Rocky Mt Med J 1957; 54: 251–254.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Mazess RB . Neonatal mortality and altitude in Peru. Am J Phys Anthropol 1965; 23: 209–214.

    CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Unger C, Weiser JK, McCullough RE, Keefer S, Moore LG . Altitude, low birth weight, and infant mortality in Colorado. JAMA 1988; 259: 3427–3432.

    CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Wiley AS . Neonatal size and infant mortality at high altitude in the western Himalaya. Am J Phys Anthropol 1994; 94: 289–305.

    CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Gonzales GF, Salirrosas A . Arterial oxygen saturation in healthy newborns delivered at term in Cerro de Pasco (4340 m) and Lima (150 m). Reprod Biol Endocrinol 2005; 3: 46–53.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Yip R . Altitude and birth weight. J Pediatr 1987; 111: 869–876.

    CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Moore LG, Young D, McCullough RE, Droma T, Zamudio S . Tibetan protection from intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and reproductive loss at high altitude. Am J Hum Biol 2001; 13: 634–644.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. West JB . Oxygen enrichment of room air to relieve the hypoxia of high altitude. Respir Physiol 1995; 99: 225–232.

    CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  13. National Fire Protection Association. Standard for Hypobaric Facilities, NFPA Code 99B. National Fire Protection Association: Quincy, MA, 1999.

  14. West JB . Safe upper limits for oxygen enrichment of room air at high altitude. High Alt Med Biol 2001; 2: 47–51.

    CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  15. West JB . Potential use of oxygen enrichment of room air in mountain resorts. High Alt Med Biol 2002; 3: 59–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla,, CA, USA

    J B West

Authors
  1. J B West
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to J B West.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

West, J. A strategy for reducing neonatal mortality at high altitude using oxygen conditioning. J Perinatol 35, 900–902 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/jp.2015.108

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/jp.2015.108

Further reading

Search

Advanced search

Quick links